Recent progress in studies of the last million years of human physical and behavioural evolution

Abstract

This article presents a synthesis of recent developments in the study of human evolution over the past five years. It begins with an overview of hominin species nomenclature and diversity, followed by an examination of the proposed population bottleneck ∼900,000 years ago. The discussion then turns to the ongoing debate regarding the Last Common Ancestor (LCA) of Homo sapiens, Neanderthals, and Denisovans, contextualized within patterns of hominin dispersal over the last million years. Key fossil discoveries, including Harbin, Homo luzonensis, Apidima 1, and Yunxian, are evaluated for their implications on evolutionary relationships. Finally, the paper explores recent findings related to hominin behaviour and considers their broader significance for understanding cognitive capacities in Middle to Late Pleistocene populations.